Reconstruction Proposal by Morgan C. - Page Text Content

1: Dear Mr. President, The goal of my proposal is to reconstruct Gampistan successfully and with as little failure as possible. In this proposal, I will introduce to you the ideas, acts, and amendments of the Civil War Reconstruction. You will learn a great deal of knowledge through the successes and failures of Reconstruction. And if we follow similar successful plans and steer away from dreadful plans that could tear Gampistan apart.

2: I want to start with the 10% Plan. Although the 10% Plan was not ratified during the Civil War Reconstruction, the plan would have benefited Reconstruction. Following a similar plan will bring the states in the West back into Gampistan. We just need 10% of each western states' voters in the previous election to take an oath of allegiance and they will be admitted back into Gampistan. Another approach is to take the side of the Radical Reconstruction, Presidential Reconstruction, or the Military Reconstruction. Following the Radical Reconstruction, your main goals would be preventing any leaders in the West from returning to a political position, and the federal government would assist newly freed African Americans in obtaining political equality. Following the Presidential Reconstruction, you would pardon those in the West as long as they take an oath of loyalty to Gampistan and recognize the abolishment of slavery in the West and East. Following the Military Reconstruction, there would be separate districts governed by Union soldiers in the West. Those are all good plans, but some have minor flaws.

3: We do not want to upset the West by keeping former leaders from returning to their government positions. We do not want troops watching over the West either. The best plan would be to combine all the reconstruction plans and make into one big successful plan. We would help newly freed African Americans in achieving political equality, pardon those in the West as long as they take an oath of loyalty to Gampistan, recognize the abolishment of slavery, create a new state constitution, and agreed that all men can vote.

4: If you are still wondering whether or not to punish those in the West, do not do that. That will just upset them more then they already are. Hiram Revels, the first African American elected to the U.S. Senate, believed that amnesty should be given to the South as long as they take an oath of allegiance. I recommend you follow this same example because if you boss them around, the West will want to break away again. Taking that into account, if anyone disagrees with how you decide to handle this Reconstruction era you may find yourself in Andrew Johnson's shoes. Andrew Johnson stood in the way of the Radical Republicans and Johnson did not support Radical Reconstruction. And once Johnson was impeached, the Radical Republicans could try and get their ideas passed through congress. You should cooperate with other political officials.

5: Next, you should pass policies like the 13th Amendment, 14th Amendment, and the 15th Amendment. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. The 14th Amendment ensures that states follow other amendments. The 15th Amendment gave the right to vote to all men. Now the 14th Amendment is vital because states in the West may pass something like Black Codes. Black Codes kept African Americans from voting or testifying in court. However, the 14th Amendment calls for all states to follow the amendments. There were many court cases such as the Slaughterhouse Cases and the U.S. v. Cruikshank case. The rulings both revolved around the 14th Amendment. The verdict said that due process and equal protection clause apply to states not individuals. That was bad for Reconstruction because that limited African Americans rights once again.

6: Ways to still protect African Americans’ rights are Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave citizenship to everyone in the U.S. And anyone who did not abide this would be sued by the federal government. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 proposed by Charles Sumner, a proponent for Reconstruction, banned discrimination in use of public facilities. Charles Sumner is a good model for the types of people you should have in your cabinet.

7: With all these plans to give African Americans the equally they deserve, secret societies may be established. During the Civil War Reconstruction, the KKK was born. The KKK went around terrorizing African Americans and those who supported Reconstruction. The White League was similar to the KKK. And the White League was involved in the Colfax Massacre. Colfax, Louisiana was controlled by Freedmen and the White League tried to take it back and it ended up in a bloody massacre.

8: We do not want to send anyone from the East to the West because the West will just loathe the East. For example, Carpetbaggers (a name given by southerners) came from the North and wanted to take over political power in the South or go down South for financial gain. You also need people in the West who support Reconstruction because without them there is a small chance you will be able to restore Gampistan. During the Civil War Reconstruction, they were known as Scalawags. They supported Reconstruction and lived in the South.

9: We have all of these newly freed African Americans. What do we do with them? During the Civil War Reconstruction, there was an organization called Freedmen’s Bureau. Freedmen’s Bureau helped newly freed African Americans by giving them housing, medical care, and education. Education was important because without it how would they survive in society. We should set something up similar to that. Also, we know newly freed African Americans can survive on their own based on the Port Royal Experiment. Through the experiment, former slaves were given land and had to take care of it. It was very successful. Also, Gampistan has all of these plantations abandoned by former owners. You can follow Sherman’s General Field Order 15. Under that, any land owned by former masters was given to newly freed African Americans to harvest. That proved to be a better way than sharecropping. Sharecropping was evil. Newly freed African Americans ended up insolvent because sharecroppers had to pay for seeds, fertilizer, tools, and animals and did not have money left to get out of debt. They also had to pay a percentage of the crops they grew to the owners of the land. Tenant farming is another way for former slaves to earn money. The only thing a tenant farmer pays for is the rent for the land. Everything else is their money.

10: You also want to manage Gampistan’s fiscal matters carefully. You do not want to end up like President U.S. Grant. Grant had a big problem to deal with: the Panic of 1873. The Panic of 1873 was a huge financial crisis. During Grant's term, there were a lot of scandals in his cabinet. Examine who is working closely to you they may bring you down. Also during Grant’s term, redeemers took control of some southern states. You do not want that to transpire in the West. These redeemers wanted to return the south to the way it was antebellum. It was known as “Redemption.” But following my proposal will hopefully steer away from this.

11: Lastly, you need to finish up the Reconstruction era. The Civil War Reconstruction ended with the Compromise of 1877. The Compromise of 1877 was the official end to Reconstruction. South agreed that if military districts were removed then the Republican candidate Hayes would win the election. But the end to Gampistan’s Reconstruction could be just removing the troops in the West if you decide to set up military districts.

13: This political cartoon depicted the bad side of Reconstruction from a southerner’s viewpoint. The North was crushing the South. And the rode ahead of southerners does not look pleasant. | I hope you take into account what I have discussed in this proposal. It will put Gampistan in good terms. Thank you for selecting me to help reconstruct Gampistan. Respectfully Yours, Morgan Cavalcanto